


Not so bad after all

by barbecuesauceonmytitties



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adoption, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Happy Ending, Keith grew up with the Blades, M/M, Mentions of Smut, Parenthood, Sheithlentines 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2019-10-28 12:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbecuesauceonmytitties/pseuds/barbecuesauceonmytitties
Summary: How Keith grows up with the Blade of Marmora, Shiro is a single Spacedad and they really don't want to do this.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my work for the Sheithlentines 2019!  
> I chose to write about an Arranged Marriage AU since that was one of the things on Tay's wishlist!  
> I hope you enjoy reading this!

 

On an average day a few years back, a half destroyed Galra cruiser arrived at the headquarter of the Blade of Marmora.

Inside was a female Member of the Blades, carrying a squirming bundle of towels.

  


The woman had crashed on Planet Earth after a mission failure and had been rescued by a human living in the desert.

The two of them fell in love and in the short time they spent together a little boy, half-Galra and half-Human, was born.

 

One night the Galra Empire reached Earth and the woman, Krolia, went and destroyed the fleet. Except for one ship.

When her boyfriend went to work one morning and didn’t return, fallen in the flames that he had tried to tame, she took her son and went back home.

 

She was allowed to raise her son on base, for it was not saver anywhere else since the war between the Galra Empire and the resistance was fierce.

 

But the little boy wasn’t given much time with his mother. When he was barely three years old she died in a battle and left him orphaned.

 

The doctor on Base, Ulaz, took him in since he already knew Keith quite well and had earned his trust. His mate Thace and him looked after Keith like he was their own little boy.

 

So Keith grew up there with the Blade of Marmora, hearing stories about his mother, the war, Voltron and old Galran Tales.

And even though he was the only child on base and he looked more human than Galra, he wasn’t lonely.

He had his fathers and Kolivan, the Leader of the Blades and an old friend of his mother, who became an uncle to Keith.

 

When Keith turned 15 he was allowed to train with his friends, the younger generation of Blades.

  


~*~   

  


“DAD,” Keith rushed through his room searching desperately for his Blade. “Dad! Where is it?”

 

“I put it back on the shelf with ours,” Ulaz appeared in the doorway, Training Blade in hand.

 

“Oh thanks- ,” Keith said and went to take it from him.

 

Ulaz held it over his head. “Yeah I don't think so.”

 

“What the… I'm gonna be late,” Keith jumped up and down trying to reach the knife. “Can I please have it back?”

 

“Oh I don't know. Can you?” Ulaz turned around and passed his kits Blade to Thace.

 

“Noooo. Why do you keep making bad jokes. It's not funny, stop.” Keith whined, rushing after him and coming to a stop in front of his other Dad.

 

“They're not bad jokes. They're dad jokes,” Ulaz protested.

 

Chuckling, Thace held the Blade out for him. “There you go. Now go and be great.”

 

“Hah! I will. BYE.” Keith exclaimed, taking off into the hallway and shouting the last word over his shoulder.

 

“He's growing up so fast,” Ulaz sighed and put his hands on Thace’ shoulders.

 

“Mhh. I know. Next thing you know he is an official member and finds a mate,” Thace relaxed into his mate's touch. “Why can't he stay 15 forever?”

 

Antok chose that moment to step into the kitchen.

“You wouldn't want that.”, he mumbled and searched for food. “Kolivan says that age is the weirdest for humans.”

 

“But Keith's our kit!” Thace answered.

 

“He's a Teenager. You'll be glad once those years are over.” Ulaz said, picking up his own blade and leaving for the med bay.

  


~*~

  


Over the years Keith grew up to be a fierce young man.

 

Nevertheless his fathers insisted he didn’t take the trials of Marmora because they were afraid something were to happen to him on a mission.

 

Once Keith turned 18 and with that of age, he took them anyways. And passed.

 

He received his mother’s Bade. They didn’t tell him that it was the only thing they were able to rescue out of the debris though.

 

Being a Member of the Blade of Marmora, he learned new secrets and facts about the war.

 

So when Voltron contacted them, he was one of the first to get the exciting news.

 

As it turned out, they weren’t that great actually.

  


~*~

 

"You can't make me go."

 

"You know very well I can." The leader of the Blade of Marmora crossed his arms.

 

"I will run away.""

 

Then we'll keep you under surveillance."

 

With that the young man stomped away. If there was no way out he would have to give in eventually. He knew that.

 

Ever since the Castle of Lions - and with it the Paladins of Voltron - contacted one of their cargo ships his life had been a shit show.

An arrangement had to be made. And as it had turned out the only way to guarantee peace from both sides was through marriage. An arranged marriage that could be broken after 3 years but a marriage nevertheless.

 

The most marriageable person had to be chosen.

Since he was the only 20 year old and thus the one with the smallest age gap to the Black Paladin, the choice had fallen on him. Great.

  
  


Keith rushed through the halls of the headquarter. Too caught up in his anger and thus not looking where he was going he ran head first into Antok.

 

"Little one. Keep watch of where you're going," the big Galra rumbled in a soft voice.

 

"Antok." Keith slung his arms around the others hips and pressed his face into his stomach. "Please don't make me go."

 

Silently Antok placed one of his hands on Keith's back, covering almost all of it, "I'm sorry."

 

"No. Please talk to Kolivan again. There has to be another way." Keith started shaking again. If from anger or sadness he didn't know.

 

"I did, kitten. He says he can’t choose anyone else. You are the one who looks the most human. Kolivan says he doesn’t want to trigger any PTSD related attacks in the Paladin. Also he thinks it is the only way we can build a coalition and finally end this war."

 

Keith pushed Antok away and frowned. "I know. But that doesn't make it easier."

 

"Keith, please."

 

Keith shoved himself away and walked around him.

"No. Why do I even bother. No one cares about me anyways," he huffed.

 

"That is not true and you know it. Your fathers, Kolivan and I care deeply about you. We just don't see any other way." Antok ruffled his hair and let out a sigh. "I am sorry. I really am."

 

"Yeah, whatever." Keith pressed out through gritted teeth and turned to walk away.

 

"Keith-"

 

"Leave it."

 

Antok let out a deep sigh as Keith turned around a corner and was out of sight.

The faintest smell of salt hung in the air.

  


~*~

  


Not only Keith disapproved of the situation though. In the castle of Lions, a certain Paladin didn’t take the news all that well.

  
  


"A what now?!"

 

Allura sat up a little straighter. "A truce. A coalition."

 

"No, no, no. I got that part." Shiro crossed his arms.

 

"The situation asks for an old tradition. The most marriageable person from each party has to marry the other. And no offence but that is you, in our case. It seems like it is the only way this war may be won." Allura reached out to touch his hand. "I am really sorry Shiro but I'm afraid you'll have to do it."

 

Shiro winced away and stood up. "Why would you do that? The Galra and Alteans are 10 000 years ahead of us Humans and even we don't have arranged marriages anymore."

 

"This is just the way it works. With the exception that the marriage can be declared invalid after 3 years. If the war is won by then." Allura sighed.

 

"I won't do this. You can't just marry me off to some Galra." Shiro proclaimed and crossed the room.

 

The other Paladins had been awfully quiet up until now.

 

"Fuck." Lance said.

"Shit fuck." Pidge agreed.

Hunk looked a little green in the face.

 

“I understand that this coalition could end the war. I do,” Shiro said, walking up and down.

 

“Then where is the problem?” the blue Paladin asked, throwing her hands in the air.

 

“Marriage is a thing known to humans as something we do out of love. We meet someone, we date for a while and maybe decide that we want to take the next step and marry each other,” Pidge explained.

 

“I know that it may be strange to marry a Stranger. But this is the only way. Don´t you think that if there was any other way I would have chosen it instead?”

 

“I can’t to this,” Shiro shook his head and took a step back.

 

“I know that this is rough, buddy. We all know that. And I for my part am glad that I am not the one being married off to a Galra. Even though I am kinda insulted that I am not called the most marriageable man in this room,” Lance said and stood up as well.

“Tactful.” Hunk murmured.

 

“We love you Shiro.” Pidge said and walked over to him, “You've been like a brother to me. We all know you are strong. And we believe in you and we are there for you. Always.”

 

“Yeah, man. We didn't rescue you for nothing. You're Shiro the Hero. You've done so much good. We really look up to you.” Lance came over to him as well.

Hunk nodded from his place on the couch looking far too sick and as if he'd barf all over the place if he stood up now.

 

Shiro looked at them all in gratefulness.

“I know that you are here for me. I know that I can rely on you. And I am really grateful that you found me.”

 

“See?” Pidge rubbed his arm and smiled a little, “We're gonna figure this out together, hm? We'll find another way.”

 

“There is none. And it is too late now anyway,” Allura looked at Shiro apologetic.

 

Shiro froze in his motion to hug Pidge.

 

"I'm sorry, Shiro." Allura looked out of the window. "The wedding will take place in five Quintants. We don’t have much time. This is war. Anything can happen at anytime."

 

Shiro stared at her in horror for a minute, then ran.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wedding, a talk and an almost blown mission.

 

Silent tears fell down Shiro's cheeks as he clung to the hand of a man he never met.

 

Growing up he loved hearing stories about space. He looked at the stars with his grandparents every weekend. 

When he was accepted into the Garrison he fulfilled a part of his biggest dream. 

Then he flew to Kerberos. He reached for the stars and caught them.

Just to lose them again as he was captured by the Galra Empire and his dream turned into a nightmare.

He fought, he won and he lived. He escaped. And crashed on Earth. 

Being rescued by Lance, Pidge and Hunk was just another part of his journey to the stars. 

 

He fought alongside Voltron for months. He flew amongst the stars, he saw things no other human had ever seen before.

And even though they were fighting a war and he fought his very own demons every night, he felt free.

 

And now, after everything he's been through, his freedom was taken from him again. 

  
  


Keith swallowed hard as he listened to Kolivan’s speech. They actually went through with it. 

 

They were standing on the Bridge of the Castle of Lions. The Paladins of Voltron on one side of the room and a few chosen members as well as his dads stood on the other.

 

Kolivan stood in front of them with Allura at his side and reached for their crossed hands to wrap a band around them.

“Will you, Takashi Shirogane, Black Paladin and leader of Voltron, take Keith Kogane, Member of the Blade of Marmora, as your husband?”

 

Shiro stared at their interwoven hands.

“I do,” he whispered. 

 

Kolivan turned to Keith. 

“And will you, Keith Kogane, Member of the Blade of Marmora, take Takashi Shirogane, Black Paladin and Leader of Voltron, as your husband?”

 

Keith let out a whimper as a single tear dropped onto his uniform. 

 

Kolivan cleared his throat. 

 

“I do,” Keith said with a shaking voice. 

 

“Very well. This alliance will hold for as long as it is necessary. Let us declare peace upon the Universe. I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss to seal the bond.” Kolivan said and had to blink a lot.

 

Shiro took in a shaking breath and bend down to press a quick kiss to Keith's lips.

The younger simply stood in the middle of the room looking as if someone had just pulled out the ground from under his feet. Shiro could relate to that. 

 

Kolivan rubbed his nose and asked them to step aside so they could plan their attacks. 

  
  


~*~

  
  


“I never asked for this.” Keith said as they walked to their shared quarters on the Castle. He was to stay with the Paladins from now on to guarantee a successful marriage like the tradition demanded. 

 

Shiro shrugged. “I didn't either.”

 

Keith crossed his arms as they walked and stared at the floor.

“Did they tell you what the consummation of this marriage includes?” he asked and a shudder went down his back.

 

“Uh. I don't think so, no.” Shiro answered curiously as he reached for the scanner next to his door. He pressed his human hand to it and it whooshed open. 

 

Keith took in the sight of the room as he walked in behind Shiro. “The tradition asks for a really damn old thing. A consummation of marriage basically means sex. You know. So that our bodies can check out if we're compatible.”

 

Shiro stared at him in shock. “That is just plain stupid.”

 

Keith hummed as he leaned on a wall, arms still crossed. 

 

Shiro's ruffled his hair.

“Can they like.. . Check if we did it?”

 

Keith blushed. “They can smell it. Galra have a sense of smell way better than humans or Alteans.”

 

“Oh.” Shiro went through the room and into the bathroom. “I don't really want to sleep with a Stranger… Can we like talk about this later? You can take whichever side of the bed. Just move over my stuff.”

 

Keith swallowed loudly and cleared his throat. “Yeah.”

He was so lost in thought about his dads that he forgot to pick a side and almost missed Shiro's return. 

 

“I never imagined that my life would turn out like this.” Shiro mumbled as he came back into the room in his pajamas with a pair of towels and a toothbrush. “Uh. I have a T-Shirt too. I don't know when they'll bring your belongings…so.”

 

Keith nodded and accepted the items from him to walk into the bathroom as well. 

 

When he came back out Shiro already sat on the bed looking at him nervously. “I didn't know which side you wanted so I just waited for you to choose.”

 

Keith hugged his arms around himself, self-conscious about the way the Paladins Shirt hung from his small shoulders, and went to the right side of the bed. “I'd rather sleep next to the door.”

 

Shiro nodded. “Alright yeah. I get that.”

 

They both laid down facing the wall.

 

“I meant what I said earlier. I really don't want to have sex with you.” Shiro rushed out. “You don't have to be so tense.”

 

“I wouldn't have consented to anyways. And I do have to be tense. I have every reason to.” Keith said and closed his eyes. 

 

“I'm sorry, you know? This isn't easy for the both of us and I know that we were both forced into this situation.” Shiro looked over his shoulder to stare at Keith's back.

 

Keith curled into a little ball. “You're basically a stranger to me. I mean I grew up hearing stories about Voltron and when you guys got into the picture about the new Paladins too. Hell, you were my hero when I was 18. But I never thought I'd be forced to marry one of the Paladins for the tiniest chance to win this war.”

 

Shiro's eyes widened. “Damn.”

 

“I am a Blade. The mission comes before everything else. I know that. Yet I still feel like I can't finish this mission.” Keith wiped his face and turned around. “I have to do this, though. This war is my mission. This marriage is my mission. I won't fail.”

 

Shiro rolled over fully now and nodded seriously. “Okay. I get that.”

 

Keith stared into Shiro's eyes. “I won't fail.”

 

Shiro nodded again. “I won't let you fail.”

  
  


They fell asleep back to back. Neither of them wanted to face a stranger while sleeping. 

 

Since the Blade of Marmora was still in the Castle they had to make it seem like they actually had consummated their marriage so they jerked off in different rooms. 

 

They couldn't face each other for a week.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Days went by with both of them barely talking to each other. Just when the lights on the Castle turned off and they got ready for bed they exchanged a few words. 

 

Keith wasn't really fond of the situation and let everyone know when they were nearby. “I want to go home.”

 

Pidge rolled her eyes and smiled a little. “We know. But why do you hate it so much? We aren't that bad dude.”

 

“I don't want to be here.” Keith stumped off. Okay maybe he was a little bit stubborn lately but he had every reason to. Even though he was trying hard not to fail his mission he still wanted to express his uncomfortableness.

 

“This isn't fair.” Pidge yelled after him. “Let's just try to make the best out of it alright?”

 

Keith ignored her.

 

~*~

 

 

Missions were a tricky thing. One false movement, one falls dodge and you could be dead. 

Keith knew that. Shiro knew that. They all knew that. 

Living on the edge, being alert at all times and listening to the constant bitching of Keith sure had an impact on all of them. Especially on the newly wed couple that tried to avoid each other but had to interact during the day while planning strategies. 

It had just been a matter of time until one of them exploded. 

Though they weren't expecting it literally. 

  
  


“Shiro!” Lance screamed into the comms, navigating the red Lion towards the explosion. 

 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Pidge dodged another blast of the robeast. 

 

Hunk flew next to Pidge. “This is not good. This isn't good at all!”

 

“Shiro! Can you hear us?!” Allura went after Lance.

 

The Black Paladin didn't respond.

  
  


Keith stood on the bridge of the Castle staring at the scene in front of him with wide eyes. He was the one always left behind on the Castle, simply there for the planning due to his mission knowledge. It was always hard to see people risking their lifes right in front of him and not being able to help them.

The Paladins were on a rescue mission on a planet they received a distress signal from. Once they checked for life signs and found none, they landed.

Only to find a robeast trying to kill them.

 

While they were fighting it, Shiro suddenly flew of and tried to get behind the beast.

It seemed like it didn't work though.

  
  


“YOU ALMOST BLEW THE MISSION.” Keith yelled at his husband as soon as he stepped into the hangar bay.

 

Shiro froze. “Uhm.”

 

“YOU PROMISED YOU'D BE CAREFUL.” Keith shouted through gritted teeth, pushing at Shiro's chest with each word.  

 

“Sorry.” Shiro took up his hands in a defensive manner trying to explain himself. “There were people on that planet. I head to get them out of the danger zone.”

 

Allura gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. “There were people out there?! We checked before attacking the beast. Why didn't the scanners pick up on them?”

 

Shiro shrugged. “All I know is that they hid in a cave as the robeast landed. But they are safe now.”

 

As Shiro kept explaining the events Keith turned to walk away. He was pissed. The idiot almost got himself killed and nearly blew not only the current mission but also Keith's.

 

“Okay. This isn't ideal but we are all glad that the people are save.” Kolivan stepped up to them, his ship behind him in the hangar bay. “And we won, didn't we?”

 

The Paladins nodded.

 

"There is a problem though." Coran said as he arrived too.

“The planet is full of toxic dust that could infect Humans. Everyone who's had contact with Shiro after he stepped out of his Lion should spend at least a few vargas in quarantine.” Kolivan told them with a serious expression. 

 

Keith let out a sigh and threw his head back. “Why is it always me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I'll manage posting a chapter every two days!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quarantine talks and the beginning of a friendship.

 

“Wow. Look at me sitting in a locked room with only two bottles of water, a bed and a man I don't know but am married to.” Keith huffed as he sat down on the bed and crossed his legs. 

 

“Same.” Shiro hovered near the door. “I'm sorry you have to be in quarantine too.”

 

Keith shrugged. “Nah it's my own fault anyways.”

 

“Mh.” Shiro hummed and looked at his fiddling hands. “Can I like… sit on the bed too?”

 

Keith nodded and moved over. Shiro crossed the room to sit down beside him and leaned against the wall.

He had to be more careful around Keith. He did promise to not let him fail this mission after all. “I'm sorry for being so reckless today.”

Keith shrugged. “Just don't do it again.”

 

They both stared at their knees in uncomfortable silence. 

 

“Do you wanna... talk… or something?” Shiro asked after a while. 

“Nah.” Keith was still pissed at him almost blowing the mission. Several awkward seconds passed.  “Yes.”

 

“Cool!” Shiro looked over to stare at Keith's profile. “You wanna take turns asking questions?”

 

Keith slightly relaxed the tension in his shoulders  and nodded. “What's your favorite food?”

 

Shiro's face lit up. “Definitely Mac and Cheese. The garrison’s cafeteria had some good food sometimes. It was really good there.”

 

Keith already knew the basic history and some phrases about the Earth because his dads told him stories since his biological father was a Human. So he didn't ask about the garrison. He knew plenty about it from Pidge already too. “Never had it. But I'll have to try it sometime.”

 

Shiro agreed. “Please do. Soo.. what's your favorite colour?”

 

Keith glimpsed at him through his bangs. “Red.”

 

“Nice. Mine is black. Or white. I can't decide. Favourite animal?”

 

Keith blushed a little bit. “Hippos.”

 

Shiro's eyes widened. “You know Hippos? I thought you left Earth when you were still a baby.”

 

“My biological dad bought me a violet plush hippo for my first birthday…. I

I still have it in my bag.” Keith scratched his nose in shame. 

 

Shiro let out a squeal. “That is so cute. Can I see it?”

 

“No!” Keith looked up at him with red cheeks. “No. It's embarrassing.”

 

Shiro pouted. “Ow. Alright. My favourite animals are Lions. I guess.”

 

Keith snorted as he rubbed at his cheeks trying to cool them to stop blushing. “That's such a cliché.”

  
  


They went back and forth asking questions. It was awkward at first but after a while they loosened up around each other. Then they got to more serious topics. 

  
  


Keith scratched his neck and asked his next question. “So have you had like a girlfriend back then?”

 

Shiro snorted and chuckled a bit. “Oh hell no. I'm like super gay. I had a boyfriend but he broke up with me before I even left to go to space.”

 

“Oh! Oh okay.” Keith blushed and bit his lower lip. “So you don't have a problem with me because I'm a man?”

 

Shiro sat up straighter and answered seriously. “I don't have a problem with you. I simply don't know you. And I'm pissed that we were both forced into this situation. So the situation in itself is my problem. But if I had a problem with you it wouldn't be because of your gender, no.”

 

Keith shrugged. “I guess that's true yeah.”

 

“So what about you, hm?” Shiro nudged his knee playfully. “Have you had any partners?”

 

Keith huffed. “There wasn't really the opportunity to have one. I grew up as the only child on base and when my body started to change I was obviously the only teenager too. I've always been the youngest Member of the Blades. There was this one boy I liked when I was 19 and he was only about 24 Earth years old. Before I had the chance to do anything though he died in battle.”

 

Shiro placed his hand on Keith's shoulder. “I'm really sorry, Keith.”

 

Keith looked at him with a sad smile. “Don't be. It's war, people die. I knew it back then and I know it now.”

 

“Still. It must have been hard to be the only child out there.” Shiro mumbled. 

 

“I never knew it any differently! I didn't really mind. I had my dads and basically the whole crew to keep me company.” Keith said. 

 

“Mhh. True.” Shiro agreed and took off his hand to play with them again.

 

Keith looked over. “You're quite nice you know.”

 

Shiro smiled and looked up at him through his eyelashes. “You're not so bad yourself.”

 

Keith let out his breath and fell back against the wall. “What's it like? To have a boyfriend?”

 

Shiro laughed. “It's cool. It's like you have a best friend that you can have sex with and go on dates with and be all cheesy with. You talk about everything and you respect each others choices. At least it should be like that.”

 

Keith's face reddened again. “So you've had sex before?”

 

Shiro looked at him with a blank face. “Well duh.”

 

Keith chuckled, swallowed and played with a loose thread on his shirt.

“And you?” Shiro pressed his shoulder against Keith's. “Have you ever done the nasties?”

 

Keith's face was as red as a tomato as he jumped off the bed and stammered in shock. “W-wow! Would you look at the time. Haha. Yeah. I-”

 

“Being a virgin is nothing you should be ashamed of.” Shiro stood up as well and frowned. 

 

Keith pouted, face still extremely red. “I take it back. You're the worst.”

  
  


-

  
  


As they were allowed to leave the room later that day Shiro still chuckled about Keith's blush attacks.

 

Something changed after their time together in quarantine. They weren't treating each other as strangers anymore. There was still tension between them but they talked to each other like friends now.

Keith didn't know that Lions came in prides though.

  
  


~*~

  
  


“So what do you think about robots?”

 

Keith yelled and whirled around to face Pidge who managed to sneak up on him yet again. 

 

“HOW.” He panted. “How do you keep sneaking up on me like that?”

 

Pidge shrugged and walked around him. “Skill.”

 

“I am a literal spy!” Keith looked at her in disbelief.

 

“Well I am a nerd.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him with her down the hall. “Now come with me. I gotta show you this new thing Hunk and I did. It detects stupidity.”

 

“Uhm.” Keith said as he was dragged into a room full of computers and technical devices. “I don't think that is possible?”

 

Pidge sat him down on a chair and walked over to a red light blinking on a weird device. “It is. I tested it on Lance.”

 

“Hey!” The Red Paladin appeared in the doorway with an insulted look on his face. “I heard that!”

 

“You were supposed to.” Hunk showed up next to him and made his way over to an empty desk. He set down a plate full of snacks and some water. “I brought food.”

 

“We just had lunch.” Keith said as he eyed the plate curiously. 

 

“Bright minds need a lot of calories.” Pidge said and slapped Lance's hand away. “No touching!”

 

Hunk picked up an old helmet and put it on Keith's head. “This isn't going to hurt a lot I promise.”

 

Keith stared at him with growing panic. “What do you mean ‘not a lot’?”

 

Pidge pressed a few buttons and leaned over the chair's armrest to plug in a cable into the helmet. “It'll sting a bit.”

 

“I don't think I want to do this?” Keith crossed his eyes as he tried to keep watch of her hands.

 

“Ah. It's really not that bad.” Lance sat on a table near the door with the snacks in hand. 

 

As Pidge pressed a final button Keith felt a short pain and yelled out. “Pidge. OW. What the fuck?!”

 

“What in the everlasting hell is going on in here?” Shiro stood in the doorway with crossed arms.

 

Keith shrugged as he took off the helmet.

Hunk had the audacity to at least look guilty and Lance chuckled as he munched on the snacks mumbling something about ‘enjoying the show’. 

 

“They said they wanted to detect my stupidity.” Keith said. 

 

“Your- Keith you're not stupid!” Shiro frowned and watched Pidge in disbelief. 

 

Pidge wasn't paying attention to him though and stared at her screens with a frown.

Hunk took the helmet from Keith and looked over her shoulder. “Why isn't it working?”

 

“I don't know. It worked just fine with Lance.”

 

“I know why.” Keith said as he stood up and walked over to Shiro.

 

He revealed his secret as they all looked at him in question.

 

“Maybe I'm just not stupid enough.” He cackled and took off into the hall. 

 

Shiro laughed and shook his head, Pidge snorted ugly through her nose and Hunk chuckled. They all looked over to Lance. 

 

“What? I don't understa- HEY.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! I just had a lot on my mind lately. I hope I'll manage to post the rest before the 25th :/


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The war comes to an end, everything is different and a discovery changes Shiro and Keith's lifes.

“So this is it.” Shiro said into the comms.   
“The final battle.” Pidge confirmed.   
“If you get yourselves killed, I'll revive you and punch you.” Keith added.   
Lance frowned. “... Wow. What a way to hold a motivational speech.”

“We all trained hard and talked through our strategies often enough. We have a fair chance to win this.” Kolivan spoke up too. 

Allura flew to the front, looking at Zarkon’s ship in the distance. “We will not fail. This is our chance to end these 10 000 years of terror.”

Shiro stopped next to her. “Form Voltron!“

 

With that all hell broke loose. Battle Cruisers appeared everywhere and the Rebel fighters worked at taking them down. Smaller Ships were easily destroyed by the Blades.  
There were explosions everywhere. Galra cruiser and Alliance ships striking against each other.   
While Voltron tried to reach Zarkon’s ship, Coran typed away on the Castle's control panel and shot canon beams at incoming ships.  
The Paladins shouted commands at each other, the Blades gave constant mission updates and the Rebel forces stayed mostly by their side. It was chaos.  
And then silence.  
Someone cut off the main power source of the Empire's ships. Then an explosion. Silence.

No one moved. All of the Empire's ships were either destroyed or powerless. When a big piece of debris floated away and gave view to Zarkon’s ship, the Lions of Voltron floated around in space. Lifeless. 

“NO.”

Someone screamed. Keith didn't register who it was. It could have been himself for all he knew. 

“Transfer all of the remaining power towards the tractor beam! Let's get them back into the Castle!”

Keith heard someone's muffled voice. There was a constant high note in his ears and all he could do was stand there and stare. He stared at the debris that was once the biggest Galra Base in the universe. He stared at the proof of the defeat of the Galra Empire. And he didn't feel triumphal.

“Keith! Come back to the castle!”

He thought he heard one of the Dads talk to him. Still, all he could do was stare at the scene in front of him with wide eyes.   
The people he had learned to call his friends over time floated through open space and no one knew if they were still alive. He didn't know if they were still alive. He didn't know if Shiro was still alive.  
A loud shout woke him up. Keith flinched as Thace kept yelling at him to return to the castle. Keith's hands shook as he obliged and raced back to the crowded ship.

Ulaz spoke to him as soon as Keith's cruiser's doors opened. “We're going to get them back into the Castle. Do you understand me?”

Keith nodded and blinked a few times. "Yeah."

“They'll be alright. Now shake out of it.” Ulaz said as he grabbed Keith's shoulders. “They'll be alright.”

“Yeah.” Keith cleared his throat and nodded to convince mostly himself. “They're okay. How do we do this?”

They transferred the remaining energy of the Castle towards the tractor beam and beamed in all of the Lions.  
As soon as the hangar doors closed Keith ran down towards Shiro's Lion.

“Please, please, please, please.” He kept saying as he tried to open the Lion's mouth.   
“Please don't be dead.” Keith tried to force it open with shaking hands.  
“Open up. Come on. Please.” He rammed his fists against its snout  
“COME ON.”

With a loud roar that had Keith stumbling backwards the Black Lion opened its mouth and gave view to a very dismantled sheepish looking Shiro. “Heyyy.”

“You!” Keith stormed up to him. “You are a goddamn IDIOT.”

Shiro stumbled a step back as strong arms wrapped around his neck and he was pulled into a hard kiss. 

He froze for a second but then exhaled softly against Keith's lips, returning the pressure. 

Keith pulled back slowly and looked at him with teary eyes.   
“Don't you ever do that again.” He said and covered both of Shiro's cheeks with shaking hands. “Don't you dare.”

Shiro gulped as he stared at the man in front of him. He had never seen Keith lose it like this before.  
He placed both of his hands on Keith's lower back.  
“I won't.” He whispered as he leaned his forehead against Keith's. 

Keith let out his breath and nodded. Then he closed his eyes and pulled him into a tight hug.   
Shiro could still feel him shiver. 

Someone cleared their throat behind them and he looked up to meet the eyes of four angry dads. The other paladins stood behind them, beaten up a bit but okay, and watched them with knowing smirks. 

“Oh shit.”

 

“We may have won this war.” Thace started.   
“But there's still a lot to do.” Kolivan continued.   
“And if you keep doing shit like this.” Ulaz crossed his arms.   
“Then we'll have a serious conversation, my friend.” Antok added, which was actually very intimidating coming from a 3 meter tall Galra.

Shiro gulped and tightened his arms around Keith. “Y-yes Sirs!”

 

~*~ 11 months later ~*~

 

It was 4am and they were laying in bed as Keith's datapad blinked with an incoming transmission.   
Groaning, he reached over Shiro's sleeping form to answer the call.

"Yuh?" He mumbled as he brushed his hair out of his face, worsening his bed hair. 

His dads face appeared on the screen, looking far more awake than Keith thought was possible for this time of the day. "Sleep alright?"

Keith fell back against the mattress and sighed. He rubbed his eyes. "I did until you decided to wake me. What is it?"

While Ulaz chuckled, Shiro roused next to Keith and planted his head on his shoulder to see what was going on. "Huh?" 

"Well good morning to you too." Ulaz said as he took in their shirtless forms and a small dark bruise on Shiro's neck. He frowned. "There's a situation."

"Is it another distress signal?" Keith straightened up and unconsciously stroked through Shiro's hair in a soothing motion.  
The two of them had gotten closer after the battle. They talked out some issues, went on dates (alias they took a few juice packs and went to the observation deck to watch the stars) and eventually decided to be a couple. No one was actually surprised as they told them. 

Shiro blinked at the screen. "Or is it another job? Humanitarian work again? We'll be there in the morning."   
The Blade of Marmora had successfully transformed to a humanitarian relief order after their victory. They still had to fight upcoming resistance by wanted Galra groups from time to time but were usually occupied with assisting the Voltron Coalition. Aliens from all over the universe turned to them with any problems and they were always busy helping those planets.  
While Shiro and Keith stayed with the Blades, the other paladins stayed on the castle to assist the coalition from there. 

Keith frowned as Ulaz shook his head.  
"What is it?"

"We found an abandoned small Galra cruiser. It's been destroyed by unknown circumstances. " Ulaz said as he typed away on another screen. "You two are nearby so we decided to let you check it out."  
Keith's datapad blinked as Ulaz sent over the details.

They nodded and Keith said their goodbyes. He hung up the call and turned to his husband/boyfriend.  
"Ready to go treasure hunting?"

 

~*~

 

They arrived at the wreck by morning, just as Shiro had predicted.  
It was an older small Galra Cruiser that was half destroyed, though they couldn't say if it had partaken in the final battle or not. 

"Let's check for life signs first." Keith said as they inched closer.   
Shiro nodded and they waited a few seconds as the Black Lion scanned the wreck. They raised their eyebrows as the results came up on a screen.  
"There is a life source but it's small? What does that mean?"   
Keith shrugged. "An animal maybe? A weird meteorite? It could be a fault. Let's be extra careful though." 

They stopped the Black Lion, put on their helmets and left through an airlock. Shiro activated his jetpack and held Keith's hand to pull him towards the wreck.  
"Look out for debris!" Keith's voice cracked through the communicator as a piece of metal floated by.  
Shiro nodded and successfully maneuvered them through the floating debris.

They flew to a big hole in the hull and Keith grabbed onto the ship to pull them inside.   
It was a mess. A few lights flickered on and off and small debris alongside a few destroyed drones floated around.   
Keith looked at Shiro. "What the hell happened here?"

"I don't know. But if some of the lights are still working it couldn't have happened long ago. Maybe a few days? A week max?" Shiro said as they took in the scenery. 

Shiro squinted and drew his bayard as Keith turned on the flashlight on his suit's sleeve and took out his blade.   
Slowly, they made their way through empty dark halls, passing more debris and destroyed ship parts. There was nothing that could have emanated the life signs.   
They reached a closed door and after checking the control panel,Keith forced it open with his blade.

The door slid open and the scenery made their breaths hitch.  
The lights as well as the living condition systems were still intact so everything in the room was in its proper place.   
The body of a Galran woman in civilians clothes was hunched in one side of the room, a huge dark purple stain on her shirt. A destroyed drone with his gun still in hand laid next to her.  
Shiro stared at the scenery. "What the hell?" 

They exchanged a look and stepped into the room. The door slid closed behind them and the ship's gravity generator pulled them to the floor. Keith sucked in a breath as he saw a dead male Galra next to the door.  
"What the hell happened here?" Shiro repeated as he followed Keith. 

Keith searched the room and murmured, "I think they were refugees… and the Empire's leftovers found them before we did."

He came to a stop in front of a big glass container. Shiro's eyes widened and he took his hand. "Do you know what that is?!"   
Keith shook his head with a frown. 

"It's an Altean sleeping pod!" Shiro exclaimed as he searched for the panel to open it. "We found Princess Allura and Coran in two of those!" 

Keith stared at him and fastened his hold on his blade. "So this is where the life signs emanate from? There's someone in there?" 

"Only one way to find out."

The sleeping pod's glass door slid open and a small bundle rolled out of it. They stared at it curiously and Keith let go of his boyfriend's hand to bend down and turn it around.

Big purple eyes were staring back at him. Big purple eyes belonging to a small purple baby with big fluffy ears on top of it's head.   
Seconds passed as they were simply staring at each other. The baby sniffed once, tears forming in it's eyes and it started bawling at the unfamiliar face behind the visor. 

Keith startled but quickly took of his helmet, cooed and picked up the crying baby. He pressed the small bundle to his chest and started rocking his arms while shushing it. 

Shiro watched them with big eyes and a weird pressure was building in his chest. As weird as finding a baby in a destroyed Galra ship was, the feeling of seeing your husband with a baby in his arms for the first time couldn't even compare to it.  
He carefully took off his helmet, came to a stop next to Keith and gave the baby one of his fingers to play with.

Keith looked up and met his husbands teary eyes after the baby finally calmed down and fell back asleep. They shared eye contact for a minute before Keith sniffed and blinked hard. 

"What are we going to do, Shiro?" He asked with a wobbly smile and looked down at the little fluffy Galra in his arms. "The poor thing just lost his parents and now we'll have to take him to god-knows-where and everything will be so weird and he'll be so scared."

"I know..." Shiro rubbed over his eyes and placed a gentle hand on Keith's shoulder. "I'm going to search for another helmet. For now just stay right here with the baby, okay?" 

"Yeah." Keith nodded and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

 

~*~

 

"Dad?" Keith looked at Ulaz' face on the screen in the Black Lion's cockpit. "We're coming back to the base."

Shiro watched as Ulaz' eyes slowly went from his son's teary face to the small bundle of grey blankets in his arms. Little fluffy purple ears were looking out at the top.  
Ulaz' eyes widened and he shrieked. "Is that a baby?!" 

Shiro smiled at him with a shrug while Keith was yet again busy staring at the baby in wonder.  
"Yeah… we found their parent's bodies in the wreck. The baby was in an Altean sleeping pod. We'll explain everything when we get back."

 

~*~

 

When they arrived at the base Keith's dads were already expecting them with raised eyebrows. 

They hurried to the med bay where Ulaz bathed the baby, checked it for injuries and did a small general medical check.  
"He'll be alright. His blood pressure is a bit high but I think that's because he's scared." He explained while gently dressing the Galra baby in a worn off purple body after putting him in a diaper. "I'd say he's about 3 weeks old."

Shiro nodded in relief while Keith clung to his arm and nervously bit on the claws of his left hand. They had time to change into loose clothes while Ulaz was busy with the baby. Kolivan, Antok and Thace stood in the back of the room and their shoulders sagged in relief as well.   
As soon as the doctor finished dressing the child, Keith stormed forward and cooped him back up against his chest in a big blanket. The small bundle fell asleep almost instantly.  
"Why do you have baby clothes?" He asked his dad. 

"They're yours." Ulaz explained with a gentle smile. "We kept them."

Shiro watched Keith with a dopey face and wrapped an arm around his waist to stare down at the sleeping baby's face. 

Thace took in the scenery with tears in his eyes and he walked to his mate to hug him. "Does that remind you of something?"   
Ulaz chuckled as he leaned his head on Thace's shoulder. "Hmm. Just like us back then."

"So him, huh?" Antok said as he walked closer as well and ruffled Keith's hair. "Have you thought of a name yet?" 

"Wh- why would we name him?" Keith stuttered as he looked up. 

"I got in touch with some people while the three of you were on your way back but no one can take in a baby at the moment." Kolivan answered from where he leaned at the door frame.

Shiro's eyes widened. "So we should just keep him?" 

Keith's face formed a little 'o' as he looked up at his husband. Shiro caught his gaze and seemed to search for something in his eyes. 

Keith shifted a bit with his bare feet. "I mean… we talked about it."

"Do you think we're ready?" 

"I don't think anyone is ever really ready for being a parent." 

Shiro nodded. "Okay."  
"Okay. " Keith repeated with a teary smile.

They all looked down at the small wonder in Keith's arms again.  
"We couldn't save your parents. But maybe we can give you a long and beautiful life, little Sven." Keith said as he gently pet one of Sven's fluffy ears.  
Shiro gave his son a gentle kiss on the forehead. "Welcome home."

In the background Kolivan secretly wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes, Antok smiled like the proud grandfather he was and Thace blew his nose in a tissue loudly. "My baby's all grown up and is a father now."  
Ulaz' nodded with a gentle smile. "First married, then dating and now parents… They do everything out of order, hm?"


	5. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domestic life with Shiro, Keith and their Galra toddler.

"Take your hand out of your mouth, little love!" Keith said with a gentle smile on his face. He stood at the kitchen counter and was cleaning up from dinner while Shiro sat on the couch next to Sven and was playing with his stuffed animals. 

Sven looked at him with his big purple eyes, took his fist out of his mouth and promptly smacked his spit clad hand on Shiro's white shirt.

Shiro made a face. Keith shook his head with a snort and tossed his husband a dish towel. "Better wipe that off."

Shiro gave him a thankful smile and attempted to remove the worst of the toddler spit from his shirt.

Sven giggled at his dad and swung two lion plushies through the air. "Voltrooon!" he yelled and tossed them to the other colored lions. He looked up at Shiro who had put down the towel and watched him play. "Dada?" 

 

"Who do you want to play with, Sven? Mr. Shark? Or your new Weblum doll?" Shiro held up the toys in question and made a thoughtful face.

Sven frowned and his eyes moved from one of Shiro's hands to the other. He shrugged.

"It's a hard decision!" Shiro said with a nod and picked up another stuffed animal, "How about this one then?" 

"Hippo!" Sven exclaimed, his ears excitedly pointing up as he made grabby hands towards the light violet plushie that belonged to Keith once.

 

Keith watched his little family from where he stood, a loving smile on his face.

A lot had happened since he and Shiro had decided to take Sven in. It wasn't always easy with a child and they fought over stupid things sometimes when one of them was stressed out. But it was worth it. There was so much love in their lives and it felt like it grew daily. 

Keith's eyes swayed to the wedding band on his finger. Despite being technically married already it felt like they missed out on something. So they had made their marriage official by Keith proposing to Shiro. (They both cried.)

A small ceremony was held and they had a honeymoon-weekend on a newly founded vacation planet. Sven had spent the days with Ulaz and Thace who adored him and gave him tons of sweets. 

He sighed at the memories, put down the plate he'd been drying and turned to open the drawer containing their sweets. "Would you like a bit of chocolate?" 

 

"YEAH," the 2-year old shouted, abandoned his game and quickly rushed over to his Dad. His little naked feet padded over the floor until he came to a stop in front of Keith and raised his chubby arms to signal he'd like to be picked up.

Shiro chuckled from his place on the couch, put down the fluffy hippo plushie he had played with and stood up to come over to the kitchen as well.

 

Meanwhile Keith grabbed their son under his arms and settled him comfortably between his left arm and his hip. He broke off a small piece of the chocolate they had bought on their last trip to the space mall and raised it to Sven who was already making grabby hands at the treat. "But this will be the last one before bedtime, okay?" 

His son nodded eagerly and started munching, his purple ears perked up happily.

Keith grinned at the sight and he turned around to look at Shiro who came to a stop beside them. "You want some as well?" 

Shiro laughed and went to place his hand around his husband's waist. He nuzzled into Keith's soft hair and let out a sigh. "I love you."

 

Keith reached up to cup Shiro's cheek with his right hand. "And I love you."

They shared a kiss, the angle made it awkward but it was sweet nevertheless. 

Sven made a disgruntled sound. "Dada bah!" 

They broke the kiss and chuckled which made their warm breaths brush over each other's faces. Keith turned to look down at their son who had finished his chocolate and stared at them with something like judgement in his violet eyes. 

"What is it, little love?" Keith asked as he crossed his fingers with Shiro's prosthetic, "You don't like your Daddies sharing a kiss?" 

 

Sven shook his head with a small pout. 

At that, Shiro gasped in fake offense. His expression turned sheepishly after he shared a look with Keith and he asked, "Is it because you would rather have all the kisses for yourself?" 

 

With that they both stormed the giggling boy's face with kisses until he shrieked and smeared one of his chocolate clad hands all over Shiro's face. They all stared at the shocked expression on his face until Keith snorted loudly and cackled at his husband's dirty cheek. Sven clapped his hands in joy and laughed like the little sunshine he was. 

 

Keith sat Sven down on the kitchen counter and helped him wash his hands while Shiro took off to the bathroom to remove the chocolate from his face. 

  
  


~*~

  
  


It was still relatively early in the night as Shiro and Keith fell into bed. Sven was fast asleep in his room with his hippo pressed to his face. 

"I am so freaking tired and I haven't even done anything remotely exhausting today," Shiro groaned as he rubbed his hands over his face. 

Keith snickered as he rolled over to face his husband. "Well you did take a lot of hits today. Spit _ and _ chocolate? You poor thing."

Shiro peeked at him through his fingers and groaned again. "Don't forget the toothpaste earlier."

 

That got a laughter out of Keith who then pulled the covers over them and turned off his bedside lamp.

Shiro watched him, hands still partly covering his face. A warm feeling spread in his chest at the domesticity the scene had.

"This marriage wasn't so bad after all, hm?" he asked softly. 

Keith gave him a long loving look and then shook his head. "No," he whispered. 

 

"Well it gave me shirts full of toddler handprints," Shiro said with a snort.

 

"You and your puns…," Keith chuckled as he moved closer to pry Shiro's hands away and leaned in to give him a deep kiss. "I love you."

Shiro sent him a dopey smile and brushed a strand of hair that fell loose of his braid behind his ear. "I love you, too."

 

They shared another kiss, legs tangling and tongues brushing, when Keith sneaked a hand under the covers and down Shiro's chest.

"Ohh someone's needy today, huh?" Shiro whispered between kisses and placed a hand on Keith's waist. 

Keith hummed in approval and manhandled him so he was straddling him instead. "You know it."

 

Shiro took a long look at Keith, his black hair falling in strands around his face as he looked down at him with a devious smile.

 

He was  _ so _ in love. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo. This is it!
> 
> I am incredibly sorry that it took me so long to update the last two chapters of this fic! This was originally posted as a valentines gift and I'm honestly not sure if it's even allowed to update half a year after the deadline... BUT better later than never, right?
> 
> Thank you for bearing with me and hopefully enjoying this little fanfiction!
> 
>  
> 
> If you like my work please consider heading over to my Twitter (@supersenf) where I post my art!  
> (Also a big thank you to my friend and beta reader Luthién! MWAH)


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